Inflation climbed at its fastest pace in more than a year in March as gas prices soared, Reuters reported.

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 2.7 percent last month from March 2010, the largest 12-month increase since December 2009, the U.S. Department of Labor said today.

The core CPI, which excludes food and energy prices, rose 1.2 percent from a year ago.

“Consumers are increasingly feeling the pinch of rising prices, in part because food and gasoline are frequent purchases and price changes are easily detectable,” said Jim Baird, chief investment strategist for Plante Moran Financial Advisors.

Gasoline was the chief concern among consumers, as fuel prices increased by 5.6 percent in March from February and were 27.5 percent higher than a year earlier. Food prices were up 0.8 percent in March, the biggest single-month increase since July 2008. Food prices were 2.9 percent higher than a year ago.

“Today’s report provides further evidence that prices across a broad range of goods and services are gradually beginning to rise,” said Peter Newland, an economist with Barclays Capital, in a note to clients.